1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to boats and other watercraft and more particularly to systems operative to manage and control as well as monitor the operation of bilge pump systems therefore.
2. Discussion of Related Art
As is well known, most boats, regardless of the material or construction and fabrication thereof, have a tendency to take on a certain amount of water when floating in a body of water. The causes for the accumulation of water vary substantially with different types, materials, and fabrications of boats. However, generally speaking, such causes of water intrusion into the hulls of boats include, among other causes, plumbing failures, seepage through the hull material or joints formed between elements of the hull, leakage or small flaws in the hull integrity, plumbing failures in potable water tanks or in unlimited dock-supplied potable water lines, failures of engine cooling systems and failure of seals utilized with various “through-the-hull” fittings or couplings as well as rain which runs into the bilge.
The operator will generally become aware of water in the bilge by periodic inspection, by observing bilge pump activity, or, in extreme cases, by noticing sluggishness in boat performance caused by the weight of seawater inside the bilge.
Seawater inside the bilge of a vessel is generally removed by a bilge pump, which is typically a battery powered pumping unit that pumps bilge water overboard either in response to a manual switch or automatically in response to the level of seawater in the bilge. In the latter case, a seawater revel detector inside the bilge detects when the seawater is at a predetermined level and electrically energizes the bilge pump until most of the bilge water is pumped overboard.
If there is excessive leakage of seawater into the bilge, the bilge pump will be maintained in operation for a period of time greater than the norm, and in extreme cases, the bilge pump will be maintained continuously on until the battery is exhausted. In the event that inflow of seawater into the bilge is greater than the capacity of the bilge pump, or in the event that electric power is exhausted or otherwise cut off, or in the event of bilge pump failure before the inflow of water is controlled, the level of seawater will rise in the bilge with catastrophic results.
Faced with the need for protecting boats from damage or loss caused by bilge pump failures or inability to respond to excess water collecting within the boat bull, practitioners in the art have provided various alarm and monitoring equipment for use in combination with bilge pump systems. While such systems vary, the overall objective thereof is to provide a type of warning or alarm for indicating a failure of the bilge pump system and/or the accumulation of a potentially damaging amount of water within the bilge of the boat.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,357,247 issued to Marnel et al. sets forth a METHOD AND EQUIPMENT FOR ALERTING OF DANGEROUS WATER LEVELS which function to alert a boat owner, whether on board or at a remote location, to the fact that the water level within the craft has risen above a predetermined level and at a rate which is causing the water level to increase. The system utilizes a continuity board and a power source which when activated completes a circuit to energize onboard alerting devices such as strobe lights as well as a preprogrammed cellular telephone auto dialer and answering machine. The cellular telephone auto dialer and answering machine dials a given sequence of telephone numbers in response to the detection of an alarm condition. Thus, as water level increases, the audible alarm, and strobe lights are energized to provide an indication of a problem. In additional the cellular telephone auto dialer further operates to contact the boat owner at a predetermined remote telephone.
British patent 2,139,793 issued to Ross et al. sets forth an AUTOMATIC BILGE PUMP MONITOR which includes means for energizing and de-energizing a bilge pump in response to sensed water level. The automatic bilge pump monitor further includes an alarm means arranged to provide a warning in the event the bilge pump has been continuously operating in excess of a predetermined time interval. The bilge pump monitor includes a triggerable monostable timer circuit to provide the time interval monitor function for the system.
A problem with prior bilge monitoring and pumping systems is that continuous running of the pump not only means that there is likely a significant leakage problem, but the continuous running of the pump can cause the battery to run down or pump failure to occur, thus rendering the battery/pump system inoperable. Another problem of such prior systems is that switching to manual operation of the pump typically involves bypassing and/or de-energizing the automatic switch and the alarm/monitoring system. Although manual turning “on” of the pump addresses the symptom (i.e., too much water in the bilge), it does not address the problem (e.g., leaking hull).
Another problem of such prior systems is that the electrical power rating of the monitoring circuitry components is typically proportional to the size (footprint and/or volume) and weight of those components. That is, typically, the higher the power rating of the electrical components, the bigger and heavier those components are, and the heavier gauge of the associated wiring and connectors.
Another problem of such prior systems is that manual pump switches are typically located at the bridge of the vessel, whereas the battery is (or batteries are) typically located below deck, and the pump necessarily is located at the bilge. Typically in such prior systems, one or more power lines run from the battery (located below deck), to a switch on the bridge, to the pump (located in or near the bilge). Because such pumps often have high power ratings, it is necessary in such prior systems to run heavy gauge (i.e., relatively expensive, bulky and heavy) power lines long distance throughout the vessel.
Another problem is that the electrical wiring associated with water level-detecting float switches in such prior systems is often exposed to corrosive and/or volatile liquids and/or gasses in the bilge. Such exposure often compromises the integrity of the electrical connections and/or wiring, resulting in system maintenance and operation problems. Such exposure can also subject the vessel to fire and explosion hazards.
Another problem is that the water level detection and control circuitry in such prior systems typically involves relatively high amperage electrical transmission, in the event of damage to the wiring insulation in such systems, there is a risk of fire and/or explosion due to the possibility of spark ignition of gases in the bilge.